Rebel tennis team advances to state
HOOVER – The Vestavia Hills High School boys tennis team accomplished its primary goal this season.
To qualify for the Class 7A state tournament.
The Rebels did that on Tuesday, April 18, by way of their runner-up finish in the Section 4 tournament, hosted by Spain Park High School. Mountain Brook put together a dominant performance, sweeping the section and accumulating a maximum 63 points, but the Rebels held off Spain Park for second, with 29 points to 21 for the Jags.
“Our goal has been to qualify for the state tournament,” said Nathan Miles, third-year coach at Vestavia Hills. “Now that we met that goal, our goal is to go down to Montgomery and do everything we can as a team and try to compete.”
Out of the six singles brackets, three Rebels made it to the finals before falling to a Mountain Brook player. Sam Smith, Robert Hill and Gray Moore each got to the final on the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 singles lines.
Alex Lloyd advanced to the quarterfinals in the No. 1 singles bracket. Griffin McCullough and Jack Kimbrough also competed for Vestavia.
In doubles, Smith and Clay Castleberry teamed up to challenge Mountain Brook in the No. 2 finals, as well as the No. 3 duo of Hill and Moore. Lloyd and McCullough competed on the top line for doubles competition.
Even though Mountain Brook swept the section, Miles was encouraged with the Rebels' performance, including a few finals that pushed Mountain Brook players to the end.
The state tournament trip is the first for Vestavia Hills since completing a string of four consecutive Class 6A state championships from 2011-2014 and the first for Miles in his three seasons at the helm.
Miles said he hopes to “strike that perfect balance” when it comes to his players enjoying the magnitude of the moment versus focusing strictly on the competition.
“We’re definitely excited,” he said. “We want to soak up the moment and enjoy it and love being there. It’s a bit of a celebration. Not every team gets to do this, and we get to do this and go. You want to enjoy it but you don’t want to get overwhelmed. Let’s enjoy it, but we’re also here to get some work done. We’re going to play with passion and have a lot of fun and let the wins and losses take care of themselves.”
Miles believes he has the right group of guys to do that next week.
“This year, we’ve got a great group of guys who are extremely dedicated, and they kicked it into high gear,” Miles said. “They came into the season really focused with a real strong desire. When you get the right combination, it makes a coach’s job a lot easier.”
The state tournament will take place next Monday and Tuesday, April 24-25, at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.